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Scratchbury Hill Monuments: Iron age hillfort, round barrows and enclosures

A Scheduled Monument in Norton Bavant, Wiltshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.1975 / 51°11'50"N

Longitude: -2.1275 / 2°7'39"W

OS Eastings: 391183.308715

OS Northings: 144259.186129

OS Grid: ST911442

Mapcode National: GBR 1V8.WFC

Mapcode Global: VH97Q.25LB

Entry Name: Scratchbury Hill Monuments: Iron age hillfort, round barrows and enclosures

Scheduled Date: 9 October 1981

Last Amended: 13 February 1990

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1010213

English Heritage Legacy ID: 10213

County: Wiltshire

Civil Parish: Norton Bavant

Traditional County: Wiltshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Wiltshire

Church of England Parish: Norton Bavant All Saints

Church of England Diocese: Salisbury

Details

An Iron age hillfort the interior of which contains traces of two enclosures,
one producing Iron age pottery. Six bowl barrows are within the interior of
the hillfort.
1 - A hillfort c.22.25h in area, with three, probably original entrances.
Circular hut platforms are visible inside the western entrance. Partial
excavation of the ramparts took place c.1959.
2 - A small ditched bowl barrow inside Scratchbury hillfort. Partial
excavation took place in the 19th century. (ST91144398)
3 - A small ditched bowl barrow with some suggestion of an outer bank, inside
Scratchbury hillfort. Partial excavation took place in the 19th century.
(ST91094403)
4 - A ditched bowl barrow inside Scratchbury hillfort. This barrow is in very
good condition. Partial excavation took place in the 19th century.
(ST91024410)
5 - A bowl barrow with vague traces of a ditch, inside Scratchbury hillfort.
Partial excavation took place in the 19th century. (ST91394439)
6 - A bowl barrow inside Scratchbury hillfort. The mound is 19m in diameter
and there are slight traces of a ditch c.2.5m wide. Partial excavation in the
19th century revealed a primary cremation and bone objects. (ST91394436)
7 - A ditched bowl barrow inside Scratchbury hillfort. This barrow has been
recorded as a saucer barrow. Partial excavation in the 19th century revealed a
primary cremation and amber objects. (ST91144425)
8 - A rectangular enclosure in the south-west corner of Scratchbury hillfort.
It possibly overlies field banks associated with a "D" shaped enclosure.
9 - A "D" shaped enclosure with associated fields and trackways within
Scratchbury hillfort. Partial excavation c.1959 produced Iron Age pottery.
(ST912442)

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The most complete and extensive survival of chalk downland
archaeological remains in central southern England occurs on Salisbury
Plain, particularly in those areas lying within the Salisbury Plain
Training Area. These remains represent one of the few extant
archaeological "landscapes" in Britain and are considered to be of
special significance because they differ in character from those in
other areas with comparable levels of preservation. Individual sites on
Salisbury Plain are seen as being additionally important because the
evidence of their direct association with each other survives so well.

Seven hillforts are recorded in the Salisbury Plain Training Area.
Hillforts represent a major settlement form for the Iron Age and,
unless severely damaged, are considered worthy of protection.
Importantly, all of these are associated with contemporary
archaeological features such as field systems and land boundaries. The
significance of the Scratchbury hillfort is considerably enhanced by
the inclusion of a series of enclosures and prehistoric funerary
monuments, each considered to be nationally important in their own
right, within the monument.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Trust for Wessex Archaeology, (1987)
Wiltshire Library & Museum Service, (1987)

Source: Historic England

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